Ericsson Joins the Litigation-Crazed Party By Suing Samsung too

I'm not sure whether it's 'cool' to sue Samsung at the moment or something, but it seems Ericsson thinks so. It's just filed a lawsuit against the South Korean giant for yet more patent infringement. It seems Samsung's fighting on all fronts right now.

Apparently, Samsung failed to renew its licensing agreement for Ericsson's 'essential' wireless patents, meaning every Samsung phone infringes, and maybe many other devices too. For what it's worth, Samsung's basically said Ericsson has jacked up the rent and is demanding way too much money for use of said patents.

No specific damages have been asked for, but considering Ericsson supposedly earned around £585 million last year from similar licencing agreements, I should think Ericsson will be pretty damn keen to keep others from pulling out too. An example of Samsung it's likely to make.

For what it's worth, at least Ericsson isn't just another patent troll. It genuinely did do the pioneering work in mobile communications and therefore has a whole raft of patents to show for it. But then, it looks like Ericsson basically has Samsung, and likely everyone else, over a barrel with these 'essential' patent licences. [BBC]